Unidirectional pedestrian circulation: physical distancing in informal settlements
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a wide range of spatial interventions to slow the spread of the virus. The spatial limitations of narrow public circulation spaces within informal settlements, which house over 1 billion people around the world, make it impossible for pedestrians to practice phy...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ubiquity Press
2021-07-01
|
| Series: | Buildings & Cities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journal-buildingscities.org/articles/113 |
| _version_ | 1797813861638733824 |
|---|---|
| author | Juan Fernández González Ankit Gongal |
| author_facet | Juan Fernández González Ankit Gongal |
| author_sort | Juan Fernández González |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a wide range of spatial interventions to slow the spread of the virus. The spatial limitations of narrow public circulation spaces within informal settlements, which house over 1 billion people around the world, make it impossible for pedestrians to practice physical distancing (or social distancing). A flexible mathematical method, the Cluster Lane Method, is proposed for turning a planar circulation network of any size or complexity into a network of unidirectional lanes. This makes physical distancing possible in narrow circulation spaces by limiting face-to-face interactions. The opportunities and challenges are discussed for the implementation of this cost-efficient, low-tech solution. New notions and theorems are introduced for oriented graphs in graph theory. 'Policy relevance' A new approach based on graph theory is used to address the problem of COVID-19 contagion in the narrow public circulation networks of informal settlements. The Cluster Lane Method shows how to convert a planar circulation network of any size or complexity into a network of unidirectional lanes. This makes physical distancing possible in narrow circulation spaces by limiting face-to-face interactions between pedestrians. By involving the inhabitants of the informal settlement throughout the process, more adequate orientations of the lanes can be found. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:58:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3a8c2fd4fcd64e38b862b4f5151b6dee |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2632-6655 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:58:58Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings & Cities |
| spelling | doaj.art-3a8c2fd4fcd64e38b862b4f5151b6dee2023-06-02T00:03:57ZengUbiquity PressBuildings & Cities2632-66552021-07-012110.5334/bc.11382Unidirectional pedestrian circulation: physical distancing in informal settlementsJuan Fernández González0Ankit Gongal1B.Sc. Architecture ’19, McGill University, Montreal, QCB.Sc. Architecture ’19, McGill University, Montreal, QCThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a wide range of spatial interventions to slow the spread of the virus. The spatial limitations of narrow public circulation spaces within informal settlements, which house over 1 billion people around the world, make it impossible for pedestrians to practice physical distancing (or social distancing). A flexible mathematical method, the Cluster Lane Method, is proposed for turning a planar circulation network of any size or complexity into a network of unidirectional lanes. This makes physical distancing possible in narrow circulation spaces by limiting face-to-face interactions. The opportunities and challenges are discussed for the implementation of this cost-efficient, low-tech solution. New notions and theorems are introduced for oriented graphs in graph theory. 'Policy relevance' A new approach based on graph theory is used to address the problem of COVID-19 contagion in the narrow public circulation networks of informal settlements. The Cluster Lane Method shows how to convert a planar circulation network of any size or complexity into a network of unidirectional lanes. This makes physical distancing possible in narrow circulation spaces by limiting face-to-face interactions between pedestrians. By involving the inhabitants of the informal settlement throughout the process, more adequate orientations of the lanes can be found.https://journal-buildingscities.org/articles/113circulationcitiescovid-19graph theoryinformal settlementspublic healthurban planning |
| spellingShingle | Juan Fernández González Ankit Gongal Unidirectional pedestrian circulation: physical distancing in informal settlements Buildings & Cities circulation cities covid-19 graph theory informal settlements public health urban planning |
| title | Unidirectional pedestrian circulation: physical distancing in informal settlements |
| title_full | Unidirectional pedestrian circulation: physical distancing in informal settlements |
| title_fullStr | Unidirectional pedestrian circulation: physical distancing in informal settlements |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unidirectional pedestrian circulation: physical distancing in informal settlements |
| title_short | Unidirectional pedestrian circulation: physical distancing in informal settlements |
| title_sort | unidirectional pedestrian circulation physical distancing in informal settlements |
| topic | circulation cities covid-19 graph theory informal settlements public health urban planning |
| url | https://journal-buildingscities.org/articles/113 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT juanfernandezgonzalez unidirectionalpedestriancirculationphysicaldistancingininformalsettlements AT ankitgongal unidirectionalpedestriancirculationphysicaldistancingininformalsettlements |